"This is fan fiction for the Whateley Academy series. It may or may not match the timeline, characters, and continuity, but since it's fan fiction, who cares? To see the canon Whateley Stories, check out Whateley Academy at (http://whateleyacademy.net)"

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Chapter 9

Kelly found himself standing in front of a desk, behind the desk an older man stood, his graying hair cut military short. Both Kelly and this man were dressed in the black fatigues only worn by special forces. “Pay attention soldier!” the older man barked.

Kelly came to full attention, feet together and arms flat against his sides, “Sir, yes sir!”

“Do you agree that the end justifies the means?” The older man barked.

“Sir, that would depend on the situation, sir.”

“Just as I thought,” The older man grinned, “You refuse to answer a simple question.”

“Sir, no disrespect intended,” Kelly tried to explain, “But the question is too broad. It’s like saying killing another person is something that should never be done. But what happens if someone is trying to kill you and the only way to stop them is by killing them?”

“So you are saying that killing is okay?”

“Sir, no sir.” Kelly tried again, “I’m saying that under the correct circumstances doing something that would normally be considered a bad thing, can be a good thing.”

“Well for now I am temporarily assigning you to the motor pool,” The older man stated, “I hope you will not have any problems following orders to fix the vehicles.”

“Sir, no sir.”

“Then you are dismissed!” The older man barked. Kelly did an about face and left the office.

The older man sat down at the desk, removing the dark aviator style sunglasses he wore revealing eyes black as coal with no whites in them to be found. This one is very interesting, I cannot remember ever encountering one tied to the mortal realm as this one is. All the times this one has managed to continue when he should not have. I should find out more about this unusual link he has before I consider severing it. He has strong memories, he can reside within those for now.

“Mr. Kontos,” The white haired man wearing a white lab coat came around the nurses’ counter. A stethoscope wrapped around the back of his neck with both the ends hanging in front of his shoulders. “I’m Doctor Kline. Mr. Lekka’s doctor.”

“How’s Kelly doctor?” The concern showing on Jake’s face.

“Let’s talk in my office.” The doctor motioned Jake to follow him. Jake followed the doctor into an office, the doctor closing the door behind them. “Please have a seat Mr. Kontos,” Motioning toward the chairs that faced the desk. The doctor walked around to the other side of the desk and sat down in the leather desk chair behind it. Picking up a folder on the desk the doctor looked over at Jake, “Our records indicate that you and your wife are Mr. Lekka’s next of kin?”

“Well other than his wife Helen, we are the closest thing he has to any relatives.”

“Yes, I see.” The doctor looked back at the files, “Mrs. Lekka was also admitted, with a gunshot wound and severe burns.” Jake nodded, his mind still reeling at what had happened to his best friend.

“Okay, I’m not going to try to sugar coat this,” The doctor explained, “Mr. Lekka has a very poor chance of survival. He has deep third degree burns covering roughly forty percent of his body with fourth degree burns covering seventy five percent of the remaining skin area. His lungs also received internal burns from inhalation of the overheated air during the fire.”

“Before you say it, Kelly is a fighter, if anyone can pull though this it will be him.”

“Sir I do not want to get your hopes up,” The doctor looked Jake in the eyes, “In my medical opinion I believe it is only a matter of time. We will do our best,” the doctor shook his head slowly, “but the best we can do in cases as extreme as his, is to keep him hydrated and comfortable. The flammable substance that was used was very nasty.”

“Anything he needs,” Jake leaned forward in the chair, “Anything what so ever. Make sure he gets it, whatever the cost. I’ll make sure any expenses are covered. He gets the very best of care! If you need someone flown in, just say the word and I’ll get them here.”

“Mr. Kontos, I’m not sure if you understand what I am trying to tell you.” The doctor explained, “On the small and I do mean very small chance that Mr. Lekka’s does survive, he will need extensive reconstructive surgery along with multiple prosthetics.”

“Doctor Kline,” the agitation apparent in Jake’s voice, “I don’t mean to try and tell you your job, but that man in there has stared Death in the face before and won, mark my word, he will do it again!”

Doctor Kline sighed heavily, how can I make this man see the truth. The patient is dead already, only waiting on the time and date to be pronounced. Well maybe some good can come of this. “Mr. Kontos there is an advanced Burn care unit in Atlanta. I’ll make some calls and see if they are interested in this case, they may have some experimental procedures they are willing to try, but you would have to sign consent forms for any such radical treatments.”

“Give me the name and number and I’ll make sure they become interested.”

Chapter 10

In the shower Kelly scrubbed at the dark black stains on his skin, damn diesel engines, oil form one is impossible to get off! Kelly continued to scrub but the black stains refused to come clean. Realizing he was fighting a lost cause, the only way the stains would come off was with time, Kelly turned off the water stepped out of the shower stall and dried himself before putting on a tee shirt and pair of shorts.

Walking back to his barracks room Kelly stowed his toiletries bag in his locker before sitting down on his bunk. How long is the commander going to stay pissed at me? He’s had me in the motor pool for over a week now. Damn Jarhead, if he would have only listened the first time that girl had told him no, I would have not gotten involved and there would not have been a fight.

Kelly had been working under the hood of one of their jeeps when he realized someone was watching him. Turning toward the eyes he felt upon him Kelly saw the woman dressed in black, smiling at the sight of such a beautiful creature, “Hello and you are you?”

“My Name is Selene and I need your help. My child is being held hostage by some Nazis.” The woman pleaded, “I need your help.”

“Nazis?” Kelly found it difficult to believe what he had heard, “You gotta be shitting me!” I wonder who put this gal up to pulling this prank? Probably Jake, it has his sense of humor written all over it. I would bet my bottom dollar that she is a hooker he paid to do this.

“Please, they have my daughter, will you help?” The woman’s eyes were watering up like she was about to cry. Damn she’s a good actor too. May as well play along for now and see where this leads.

Turning away from the Jeep Kelly nodded, “Where are they?”

“You’ll need this!” Kelly turned to find another beautiful woman, younger than the first dressed in a short red dress with orange in the skirt that made it look like her dress was ablaze when she moved. Holding out a dark leather belt that held a scabbard with what looked like his own fighting knife in it. “You will need this warrior!”

Taking the belt from the new girl, Kelly noticed that the handle instead of the dark mahogany that he was used to seeing, was some black material with red swirls embedded into it. Drawing the knife a few inches to check the blade, it had a strange red hue to it now. Okay this is getting weird, the hookers I can understand but what in the hell did Jake do to my knife? And this belt scabbard must have cost a fortune to have made, the workmanship was excellent and the intricate designs on the belt and scabbard must have taken months to do. Can these women be real? Are there really Nazis around that would do something like this? And a little girl was involved! I can’t take the chance, a little girl’s life could be at stake.

Kelly was broken out of his thoughts by the younger woman, “Do you accept this responsibility?”

Looking toward the older woman for any signs of this being some elaborate trick, “These Nazis have your little girl?”

“Yes!” Kelly saw tears begin running down the woman’s cheek.

“Point me at the bastards!” Kelly’s own sense of justice and morality allowing him no other options.

Chapter 11

Mark had accompanied Jake up to burn center in Atlanta Georgia when they had transported Kelly from the Tampa hospital to the burn unit. The two sat in a waiting room as the doctors and nurses began their own triage of Kelly in another room. “I always thought he would be the last to go,” Mark commented, his head hung low.

Not bothering to look up from the out of date magazine he held Jake stated, “He’s not gone yet.”

“But that other doctor said—”

“Doctor Kline does not know Kelly like we do!” Jake spat.

“True,” Mark stifled a chuckle, “If anyone could whip the grim reapers ass and come back, it would be Kelly.”

In the operating room, two doctors and several nurses worked to remove the bandages that covered Kelly’s entire body. As they peeled the bandage off his left arm, chunks of charred skin and muscle came away with the bandages along with a terrible smell of burnt meat. One of the nurses darted away from the operating table leaving the room. A short ways down the hall the sound of someone retching was heard outside of the ladies room. Continuing to remove the bandages from what was once a healthy man. The sight and smell of the damage done to the body forced one of the doctors and another nurse to race out of the room to the nearest bathroom before the task was complete.

With the bandages removed, the medical team saw what could only be described as something one would see in of a horror movie. The only resemblance that the patient bore to human was the basic shape. Even his gender was impossible to tell as any sign of his manhood had been lost to the terrible heat and flames. Bone was exposed on one side of the lower jaw, the skin and muscle having being burnt away. What little skin that did remain on the body was charred black and much of the muscle tissue underneath was exposed throughout the remainder of the body.

Gently rolling the body to one side, they removed the bandages and placed a rubberized mat under him before rolling Kelly the opposite direction to remove the last of the bandages and pull the mat through to the other side. Metal poles were slid through grommets in both sides of the rubberized mat, then connected together with two other metal pipes at the head and foot of the mat forming a framed gurney. The operating table was wheeled into another room that held a large tank filled with a sickly looking greenish yellow fluid. The breathing tube taped in place to Kelly’s face was reconnected to a hose in the room, while others worked at connecting several cables that hung from above to the poles of the gurney.

The cables raised the gurney where they team pushed it over the open top of the tank where Kelly was lowered into the thick fluid. Wearing long latex gloves the cables were disconnected from one side while the makeshift gurney was pushed down below the patient where it could be extracted. Kelly’s body was then gently pushed down into the jelly-like consistency of the fluid until completely submerged.

Leaving the room the doctor and remaining nurses went into another room where they could clean up and remove the scrubs they had worn over their clothes. “You sure about using that devise doctor?” A nurse, who after removing the mask and hair bonnet was easily in her sixties, asked.

“His next of kin signed the consent forms,” The doctor stated.

“But do they know we are using a devise?” The nurse’s concern and distaste of mutants highly evident, “It has not gone through all the testing.”

The doctor continued removing his scrubs, “Linda your dislike of Larry is well known, but if that devisor’s machine can save one single life, then I will use it!”

Chapter 12

Kelly staggered a bit when he suddenly found himself standing in a grassy field beside the woman who had called herself Selene. In the distance a large mechanical monstrosity with three legs was firing some kind of science fiction ray at over two dozen of what Kelly could only call knights in full plate armor on horseback. “Where the hell are we?”

“These are the fields of sorrow. My sister gave you a valuable part of herself in which you can defend yourself, it can be kinda rough here.” Selene stated.

“Duh, figured that.”

“Follow me!” Selene ordered, leading them around the pitched battle towards the sound of what could only be gunfire in the distance. The grassy plain soon became sandy soil that quickly turned into a desert wasteland. What Kelly had thought of as stray gunfire was now directed intentionally at them. Suddenly Selene had a large battle axe in her hand using it to deflect the rounds that came closest.

“Whoa, where did you pull that from?”

“Deflecting another barrage of bullets, “It’s my physical form outside of this dimension.”

Your what! Kelly thought, then noticed that she was not gripping it in her hand, it was her hand! Her hand and forearms had turned into the weapon she was wielding! Pulling his own knife from its scabbard, “Whatever! We need to get closer!”

“Are you ready?” Selene gripped Kelly’s shoulder.

“Hell yeah!”

Kelly was disorientated when they appeared in a cloud of smoke some distance further toward the gunmen, again and once again, Selene mysteriously teleported the closer to the men firing at them. On the final teleport the two were within the group of men. Letting her grip on Kelly’s shoulder fall, Selene became a blur of motion, mowing the attackers down like a farmer harvesting a wheat field.

Kelly sprang into action himself, dispatching one then another opponent. With each strike he dealt Kelly felt a strange sensation coursing through his body, almost as if he was gaining energy from the fighting. Although Kelly did not have time to dwell on this unusual sensation as one of the gun men was bringing the barrel of his AK47 in Kelly’s direction. swinging his knife in an arc to deflect the barrel of the gun as he tried stepping into melee range of the gunman, Kelly felt his knife slice though the heavy gun barrel, lopping off several inches from the end. Which of course did not stop gun from being pointed at Kelly.

Kelly felt the burning as three rounds from the gun hit him in the side before he had turned out of its line of fire. What neither he nor Selene saw was the fine red mist from the exit wounds turn to red smoke that seemed to get sucked back into his body, healing the wounds instantly. The gunman’s eyes went wide in terror, “Moi—” was all he got out before Kelly’s knife ended his life.

The fight over, all the attackers now lifeless on the ground, Kelly looked down where he felt himself get shot. Three holes stitched across his shirt, but underneath he couldn’t find a single mark.

“What’s your name?” Selene turned toward Kelly, her arm having become a normal arm once again, that is if any of this nightmare could be called normal.

“Just call me Kelly, and don’t make any stupid jokes. I’m not in the mood.”

“Do I look like I would do that?” Selene replied as she motioned with her head towards the cave behind the men’s camp.

Chapter 13

“How’s the patient doing Larry?” The doctor that had admitted Kelly looked over at the small short squat man that was hunched over the huge control panel of the machine watching the various gauges and computer screens.

Turning around to greet the doctor, “Hi Carl, yes, yes everything is going fine here. He is stable at the moment. There was a little glitch a while ago but it has been resolved.”

“A glitch?”

“Yes his vitals seemed to increase dramatically, then fall just as dramatically for a few minutes. I still haven’t worked out what caused it, everything here is working correctly. The stasis fluid is holding his body temp at a constant 98.6 degrees, respiration has not fluctuated, although his heart rate did climb during that time.”

“Could he be dreaming?”

“No, no way, his brain wave patterns have not changed one single bit. It’s as if the lights are on but nobody’s home.” The small man stated.

“I hope there is something left of him in there.”

“Well if not this does prove to be a great test for my machine.” The little man grinned. “It is what it was designed for after all.”

The doctor thought about all the string he had to pull and favors he called in so that they would allow his old school buddy to build his invention. Larry was a pure genius but his bedside manner was lacking. Hell not just his bedside manner his complete disregard for how others may feel. But Larry had told him that this machine would stabilize badly burned victims that would otherwise have no options, and Carl believed him. When had Larry ever been wrong? Yes his machinery was impossible for anyone but Larry himself to keep running, but his machines never failed to do as promised.

“Just don’t let his family hear you call him a test subject, okay Larry?”

Larry had already gone back to fiddling with the controls, “Oh yes, yes, I heard you, no test subjects.”

“Have you eaten anything?” Carl asked, knowing that once Larry was involved with one of his projects he would forget.

“Is it lunch time already?” Larry looked back over his shoulder smiling.

“It’s dinner time Larry.” Carl sighed, “I’ll have one of the nurses bring you something to eat.”

Not bothering to run around, “Fine, fine, yes, can your mom make us some of those grilled cheese sandwiches she made us Saturday? She makes the best grilled cheese in the world, I really love them.”

Carl shook his head as he walked out of the room, his mother died fourteen years ago, Larry had been at the funeral. But then Larry had been like this since his mutation manifested. Time meant nothing to him, what happened yesterday was no different in his mind than what occurred thirty years ago. Both just as fresh in his memories and occupying the same relative time within his mind.

Carl had taken him to every specialist he could find, but none had a cure or even a medication for Larry. His memory was cross wired so badly that if you asked him what he did yesterday he might tell you about something he did when he was five years old. To him everything not today was yesterday. One of the neurologists had once told Carl it was like placing all your computer files in one folder, then erasing the date stamps and labeling every single file with the exact same name then mixing them up into a random order.

Chapter 14

“Damn we’ve been walking through this cave for more than three hours, does it ever end?” Kelly asked as he followed Selene.

“Shhh, don’t make so much noise, you don’t want to wake anything up here, believe me.” Selene whispered, “We’re getting close.” Turning back to Kelly she handed him a large gold coin, “Here you will need this to pay the ferryman.”

Looking at the strange inscription of a winged angel holding a scythe on the coin, “Is this gold?”

“Yes, don’t lose it. They are rare these days and the ferryman only accepts those. You can’t bribe him with anything else.”

Moments later the cave finally opened up into an immense cavern that appeared to be filled by an underground sea. The path led out onto a small wooden dock, the wood of which appeared older than time its self, the dock its self well worn by the passage of untold number of boots that had walked across it. At the end of the dock a single brass bell, not more than six inches across, hung in solitude. Selene walked out across the ancient wooden structure without as if she held no doubt the old wood would carry her weight without issue and rang the bell.

Following her out onto the dock, “What now?”

“We wait.” Selene leaned back against the tall wooden pylon that held the bell.

“Wait for what?”

“For the ferryman to make his way over the sea. It’s not unusual to cross from this side, so usually he is either somewhere on the sea or at the other side of it.” Selene explained.

“You seem to know allot about this place?”

“Oh,” Selene grinned, “You could call me a regular here.”

“A regular?”

Before she could answer his question a long narrow wooden boat that seemed to be made out of the same ancient wood as the dock and about the same state of disrepair, came out of the fog that shrouded the extent of the cavern. A tall thin man wearing a cloak with the hood pulled far down over his head, obscuring his face from view stood in the back of the boat, propelling it with a long pole.

As the boat pulled to a stop at the end of the dock Selene straightened up and walked over, stepping into the boat. Going up to the hooded figure Selene wrapped her arms around him in a hug, “Hello brother. It’s good to see you.” Looking up into the figures hidden eyes, Selene grinned wide, “You won’t charge me this time?”

“Sister,” The man’s voice was quite but very rough, “Don’t worry, your past activities have filled the quota. However your friend must pay.”

Kelly gulped, Holy crap! that isn’t who I think it is, is it? Can this nightmare get any stranger? Stepping into the boat the robed figure held out his hand. Kelly dropped the large coin into his palm, a palm that seemed more like gray skin stretched across nothing more than bone.

Holding the coin up close to the opening of the hood that obscured his face, “This will do.” Looking over in Kelly’s direction, Don’t look in the water or touch it. It would be a waste to lose you on the way over.”

Kelly sat down in the middle of the boat looking down at his feet, This cannot be happening, I’m dreaming. That’s it I am dreaming.

The boat began moving out into the fog that obscured the sea. “You’re looking better again sister, something happened?”

“Oh yeah, but it’s a long story and I’m kinda short of time, even here.”

“We need to talk about it another time then sister.”

For Kelly all sense of time and distance was lost in the dense fog that made even the bow of the boat difficult to see. The only noise was of the long pole the ferryman used to move the boat along its path. This water must be shallow for him to be able to pole us across its length. We could have probably waded across, although why would he have warned us about not touching the water? Is something in it? Is it even water? Kelly wasn’t about to put his warnings to a test.

The fog lifted as quickly as it had come. Kelly could see another dock almost identical to the one they had left, with another bell hanging at the end. As the boat stopped at the dock the ferryman spoke, “Visit me soon sister, I’m kinda bored these days.

“Of course brother, if I can make some time free, I’ll be over.” Selene looked back over her shoulder while stepping out of the boat onto the dock.

Kelly followed Selene into another cave, this one nowhere near as long as the last one, until reaching a staircase that looked too made of black marble. Along each side giant white marble columns held the vaulted ceiling above.

Following her up the long wide staircase they came upon a landing at the top where an opening was covered by a large wooden gate covered in symbols, similar to those on the belt and scabbard Kelly had been given, although the ones on the gate seemed to move and change as he tried to look at them.

Selene approached the gate, reaching out with her hand to touch it. The symbols seemed to swirl into a new pattern then the gate began to move, swinging back out of the way, opening the path into the cave tunnel beyond.

Chapter 15

Emerging from the cave tunnel onto another grassy field, although this one differed in that it appeared to in an area of rolling hills, in the distance a large mountain, it’s snow covered peak immediately recognizable. “I know this place, that’s Mount Fuji isn’t it?”

“Your perception is sharp, it is indeed Mount Fuji. We are close to our destination.” Selene pointed in the direction of a hill not far away. Moving in the direction Selene had pointed the two crested a hill to find an ongoing battle between two medieval armies.

Selene hurled herself down the slope into the front lines of both armies. Kelly watched as a large gaping hole opened in both combatant’s lines with Selene in the center weaving and slashing her dance of death to the troops.

Kelly launched himself into the side line closest to him, his knife slashing and cutting through armor, weapons and bone as he made his way toward that army’s command tent leaving a trail of soldier’s corpses behind him. Kelly felt one with the weapon, it becoming an extension of his own body as it cleaved through the combatants. The energy he felt coursing through the knife ran up into his arm, deep into his inner being, into his soul its self. Granting him strength no ordinary man could imagine.

Kelly felt this energy driving him toward the enemy commander’s tent. He needed to get there, it was stronger than any need or want he had ever felt before. He knew that evil existed in that tent, it was calling to him, begging him to come.

Evading the first attacks by two of the bodyguards outside the tent by rolling sideways between the two spears they had swung at him. Slicing a third across the chest with a deep cut that cleaved clean though the armor chest plate deep into the man behind. Coming to his feet Kelly cut though both short spears, then on the backstroke his knife found the necks of the spear wielders.

Kelly feared the energy driving him, it was not a fear of those he fought against but of why he was being pulled toward this darkness. With every step Kelly took that brought him closer to that dark force, his excitement grew. It felt exhilarating to be so close to it. No matter how much he tried to ignore those feeling or stop his progress toward that evil Kelly could not.

Springing on his hands into a double back flip that would impress any gymnast, Kelly poised to attack the remaining five. Jumping the twenty feet that separated him from the men that stood between him and his goal. Kelly’s blade slashed in a flurry of strikes as he landed, the last men to stand in his way dropped to the ground dead as Kelly landed. The men inside the tent were too surprised to even draw steel against Kelly and all fell but one.

Kelly held his blade against the lone man’s neck. Kelly’s heart was racing, pounding in his chest there was no other way he could describe the feeling, he was in pure ecstasy now so close to the darkness that called to him.

The man’s eyes were wide full of terror at the sight of the blade in Kelly’s hand, “You, you hold Moira’s blade. How, how is it possible? Only she can hold that damned sword!” Looking around the man began screaming, “You swore that those fucking whores would never be able to lay a hand on me! Especially this one!” Looking into Kelly’s eyes, “Go ahead, DO IT! I don’t know how you managed this but I hope you choke on my soul you fucking whore!” Kelly could hold back no longer, everything in his own being knew this was what he was here to do, why the darkness called so demandingly loud to him, to destroy it. Drawing back he sliced across the man’s neck, severing his head.

Word spread quickly that two inhuman warriors had joined the battle as was destroying the forces on both sides. Their leaders dead, the troops retreated from the battle field, forgetting whatever cause or reasons they had been fighting over or at least fearing the two avenging spirits that had descended upon them more.

Atlanta Burn Center

Larry hit the big red button on his control panel to alert Carl and whoever was on duty there was a problem as he saw the man’s heart rate jump and his vitals once again begin to climb dangerously high then plummet only to rise again.

Carl raced down the hall slamming the double doors open as he reached Larry’s Lab, “What happened?” he yelled across the room. Seeing Larry, another doctor and two nurses standing there watching the computer screen.

The other doctor turned, Carl recognized as Doctor Hive, “His vitals are rising and falling at an incredible rate, his body temperature has risen two point 3 degrees, and his heart rate is over 200.”

“Reason for this Doctor Hive?”

“None that we can find.” Doctor Hive reported, “ Mental activity has not changed, the stasis machine appears to be functioning perfectly.”

“Then what is causing this?” Carl tried to calm himself. He could not let a patient died in this machine. If that happened Larry would be devastated. He has worked too hard over the years to build devises that saved lives. One that killed its first patient could take the poor man’s mind over the edge forever, “I need answers. I will not allow this patient to die in my center!”

Chapter 16

Selene led Kelly up the hill from the battle, opposite of the way they had come. At the crest of that hill Selene raised her hand as she stopped, “We’re here.”

Looking around, Kelly saw a few small boulders, scrub brush and a couple small trees, “There’s nothing here?”

“Let me show you.” Selene then began waving her hand in a small circular motion in front of her. The air began to shimmer in front of her hand, quickly rotating to match her movement, the small shimmering circle began to expand outward quickly becoming over eight feet in diameter with the center perfectly calm. In the center of the circle Kelly saw what had to be some warehouse district back on Earth. “Take my hand,” Selene reached out to place her hand in Kelly’s before stepping through the portal with him.

The portal behind him closed as soon as Kelly had stepped through. Kelly found himself in a space between two of the large warehouses with just enough space between them to possibly park against one building and still allow two way traffic to pass if there had been any, but the alleyway was deserted of both men and vehicles with the exception of a lone forklift parked near a service door. Looking around and no seeing Selene anywhere he swore, “Where the hell did she go?”

*I am still with you warrior,* Kelly heard Selene’s voice in his head.

“What the fu—” Kelly whispered.

~In your realm I take on the form you now hold in your hand.~

“You’re a battle axe?” Kelly continued to whisper.

~I’ve shortened my length so that you may wield me one handed.~ He heard her voice once again, realizing he wasn’t truly hearing her but feeling her thoughts that she directed at him.

Trying something, Kelly thought toward Selene without speaking, ~Can you hear me?~

~Of course.~ Selene replied, ~As long as we are touching we can speak by using our thoughts. I have also informed my daughter that we are here and she should be ready.~

~How?~ Kelly thought.

~Melanie and I do not require physical contact to communicate.~

Creeping out to the end of the alley they were in Kelly could see two guards armed with submachine guns guarding the entrance. ~So what’s the plan?~ He thought to Selene.

~Cleanse the world of their darkness.~

~That is not a plan,~ Kelly sighed, ~They have machine guns.~

~You have me and Moira’s sword!~ Selene sounded insulted, ~Mortal weapons are no match against us.~

“Here’s goes nothing,” Kelly whispered to no one in general before sprinting around the corner toward the guards. Time seemed to slow down as Kelly’s mind kicked into his ‘battle mode’ as he called the time compression people experience when under high stress, when your mind goes into over drive making it appear as if things are slowing down around you.

Halfway across Kelly saw one guard motion toward him then begin raising his machine gun, the second guard on the opposite side of the door looked then began raising his own. Rearing back with his left arm, Kelly started to throw Selene at the guard on the left. ~How can this be, you—~ He heard Selene begin to say something just as the battle axe left his hand and began twirling end over end at his target. Raising his right arm, Kelly threw the blade in his other hand at the guard on the right both weapons buried themselves into the chest of each guard throwing them with great force against the building behind them and pinning their lifeless bodies to the wall.

Three quarters of the way there and the door began to open. Kelly thought how that was the bad part about carrying only bladed weapons and using them at a distance, he was now weaponless. No sooner than he thought this the sword was back in his hand, pulsing with energy as if it could feed strength into him. The door continued to open as Kelly prepared to throw the blade again. As it opened enough to allow him to see the guard coming out, Kelly launched the blade once more, directly at the guards chest before sprinting the remaining distance to the left of the door to pull the battle axe out of the body and swing her horizontally at the now open doorway as another guard tried coming out.

Ducking his head quickly around the corner then back Kelly looked to see if the way in was clear. ~I could have done that for you.~ Selene stated in his mind.

~Now you tell me?~ Kelly thought as he came around through the door frame and entered the building. Two bodies lay one on top the other both facing up, on the floor behind the one he had just hit with Selene, the handle of his blade sticking out of the chest of the one laying on top. Reaching for the blade it suddenly was in his hand again. That is a neat trick! He thought as he stepped over the bodies looking for any further guards.

Not two steps later several guards appeared at the end of the short hallway and began firing their automatic weapons in Kelly’s direction. Kelly launched himself sideways into a door, smashing through the cheap wooden interior door and rolling back up to his feet in the room. The guards raced down the hall when they heard a loud crashing sound come from inside the room, thinking the invader was trying to escape. The wall of the adjoining room exploded outward into the hall, showering the men with pieces of drywall and two by fours as Kelly entered the hall though the wall. Five men were down before they knew what hit them the remaining man his feet dangling off the floor, held against the opposite wall by Kelly’s forearm against his neck. “Where’s the little girl you bastards kidnapped?” Kelly saw the man’s eyes dart in the direction the men had come from. Releasing the man Kelly plunged his blade into the side of his head, before pulling it out and letting the body fall to the floor.

At the end of the hall were steps leading both upward and down, Kelly could feel that he needed to go down and went that direction. More gunfire at the bottom of the stairs, Kelly felt a stabbing hot pain in his shoulder for a split second before it was gone. Throwing his blade at the first of two that were firing at him, the man went down with Kelly’s blade sticking out of his throat. More sharp pain was felt in his left thigh in several places. Kelly knew he had taken several rounds, more pain in the stomach from more automatic weapons, His blade was back in his hand and sailing toward the other gunman. Kelly forced himself to run, knowing that the pain going away so quickly was a bad omen, he knew he was hit badly and needed to free the girl before he went down. Racing down the hall Kelly went on a killing spree with blade and axe swinging hard and fast at all targets of opportunity. Halfway down the next hall Kelly saw a guard fly out of a room into the wall hard and slump down into the floor. A small teen girl possibly oriental from her appearance stepped out into the hall naked.

~MELANIE!~ Kelly heard Selene scream in his thoughts, ~Throw me to her!~ Kelly tossed Selene to the girl watching as what he had used as a single handed battle axe grew to an enormous sized halberd as it reached the small girls hands. The girl took off in the opposite direction once she had Selene in her hand. Kelly followed and watched what he could only describe as a blood bath when the girl entered what appeared to be a barracks and found four guards. She cut them to ribbons with Selene.

“Thank you very much for your help,” The small girl turned and smiled at Kelly. It was unnerving how such a small child could stand there in the middle of the carnage she had just created and smile like that. The look in her eyes was one of pure joy.

Kelly was about to speak when he felt a sudden pull. He found himself in a grassy field with the sun shining bright above. Before him stood the younger woman, the one who had given him the blade and his commanding officer. Quickly going to attention Kelly saluted the commander.

“At ease soldier,” The commander waved his hand. Looking back toward the woman, “I think you have some explaining to do dear sister? Taking this soul AWOL without permission.”

“I am sorry, but the circumstance—” The woman pleaded.

“Bullshit!” The commander yelled at her, “Moira you may be young but you have been around long enough to know better!”

The red and yellow of the irises of her eyes appeared to contain pure flame as she stood up to the much larger man, “It was to save your niece! Our niece!”

“I have no nieces?” The old man questioned.

“Izanami had a daughter before, before…” The woman seemed ready to break down in tears.

“Izanami?” The commander rubbed his chin, “I have a niece? But Izanami is not gone, I of all people would know if that came to pass!”

“She bonded, merged her soul with a human.”

“That is not possible!” The commander yelled, “Where is Selene? She and Izanami are inseparable. I will get to the bottom of this!”

“She is in the mortal realm with Melanie.”

“Who is Melanie?” The old man shouted.

Kelly watched in awe as the two argued back and forth wondering if he would bleed to death before they noticed that he was injured badly. Realizing he needed to inspect just how bad he was hurt Kelly looked down at the numerous bullet holes in his shirt and pants. Kelly was startled to find no trace of blood, nor any sign he had been shot other than the holes in his clothing. Looking back toward the two, the commander was still yelling at the young woman.

“Do you realize you almost destroyed his link back to the mortal world? A link that I was trying to determine why it existed?”

“But all human have a link to their world?” She argued.

“Not like this one, his is also tied to the upper realms.” Looking at the woman sternly, “Tied doubly now that you interfered and obliterated any chance I have of discovering where now to look for the other end of that connection.”

“How could I ruin the connection?”

“By overriding it with a stronger one, your own!” The commander almost screamed.

“But it was only temporary!” she screamed back.

“Oh it’s temporary?” The commander laughed. Crossing his arms across his chest smiling, “Then release him.”

“I, I can’t” Moira quietly stated after concentrating for several minutes.

“You have two choices my dear sister.” The commander now began using a more civil tone and volume, “The both of you can waste away together here or you can attempt what your older sister has done.”

Chapter 17

No one had left even after the man’s vitals had stabilized once again, everyone was working on finding out what was causing the burn victim’s vitals to randomly go completely crazy then restabilize. When it began again without warning Heart rate began climbing quickly over 200 body temperature began rising. Vitals spiking dangerously high then dropping dangerously low Heart rate and body temperature continued to rise. One nurse stood at the screen and began calling out numbers as the rest furiously tried to find out what was causing it and stabilize the man in the tank.

“Heart rate 255 body temp 112 still climbing!” the nurse yelled over the noise.

Suddenly Larry started yelling, “Get out of the way! Get out of the way!” as he ran over to the console, “I know what’s happening!” he yelled as he began moving dials, “We have to cool him down!”

Carl stopped and looked at his childhood friend, “Larry he’s a burn victim!”

“NO!” Larry screamed, “He’s going through burnout! We have to cool him!”

Carl ran over trying to stop Larry, “Larry NO! This is not what burnout looks like and he’s too old to go through that!”

“Yes it is burnout,” The stasis fluid kept us from seeing it as it is a highly conductive fluid by design,” Larry continued moving dials, knocking one of the doctors down to the floor that tried to stop him. Larry explained as he continued to work quickly, “The fluid was absorbing the heat, that is what it’s designed to do. But he needs colder temps to drawn the heat away from his body faster!”

“Doctor!” a nurse beside the tank yelled, “He’s thrashing around in there!” As Kelly’s body thrashed in the tank parts of his skin began coming off in the thick fluid. More and more burned tissue filled the thick fluid until it was impossible to see the man in the tank, but the movement of the chunks of flesh floating in the tank along with the ripples on the surface told them that the man was still flailing about inside the tank.

Carl stood there shocked at everything that was happening, but he had no intention of losing this patient. Yelling at those near the tank, Get some gloves on and get him out of there!”

Before they could get the long gloves on that would allow them to reach into the tank a small perfectly healthy hand shot up out of the fluid. Running up onto the platform that surrounded three sides of the tank, Carl reached over and grabbed the hand and began pulling. Another perfectly healthy but small hand shot up latching onto his hand as he pulled. As Carl pulled a head appeared above the surface, covered in long dark hair, gasping for air. Getting the person’s torso above the fluid Carl reached in and grabbed him by the waist and hauled the now much smaller man out of the fluid and stood him on the platform beside himself.

Carl could not believe it, the man had went into the tank should have been taller than his five foot eleven, but he was very short not even five foot in height now. And the skin, not a single blemish or scar to be seen as Carl’s gaze followed the man’s body down inspecting him for any signs of trauma. “Oh my god!” Carl gasped, when he realized this was a small girl not ten or twelve years old that he had pulled out of the tank. Quickly stripping off his lab coat Carl wrapped it around the shivering little girl both for warmth and modesty.

From the control panel Larry began clapping, “From the chrysalis a beautiful butterfly emerges.” Larry was highly pleased with himself, he was the only one that had seen the problem and he had found the solution. Without him that little girl would have died from the fluid continually trying to stabilize her temperature at the wrong temperature!

Looking around everyone in the room was staring wide eyed with their mouths open. “You all act like you have never seen a case of burnout before!” Looking over at one of the nurses, “YOU! What’s your name?”

The nurse said, “Nancy.”

“Whatever! Take the girl and help her get that nasty fluid off her and cleaned up!” Pointing at another nurse, “YOU! Go find that lass something to wear other than one of those god damn hospital gowns that shows everyone your ass!” With that Larry began skipping exuberantly out of the room whistling the tune from the Wizard of Oz.